Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2026
Abstract
Due to their limited ability to reason about the social context in which they are used, smart speakers pose significant privacy risks by responding in ways that may violate people's implicit social boundaries. We conducted a cross-cultural vignette study (N = 944) in Germany and Singapore to investigate how situational factors—specifically social context (bystander relationships and closeness), physical context (location), and interaction context (topic and deceptive intent)—regulate user preferences for smart speaker responses. Our results demonstrate that these factors are superior predictors of response preferences than dispositional user traits (i.e., intrinsic personal traits). We identify two distinct social dynamics: a structural influence for professional relationships (e.g., boss) that persists regardless of social closeness, and a closeness-based influence for personal relationships. We further demonstrate that deceptive intent drives privacy-seeking behaviour, acting as a tool for social impression management. In parallel, we evaluate how LLMs respond to the same scenarios, revealing mismatches between model behaviour and human expectations, particularly in culturally contingent situations. These mismatches expose new privacy risks arising from socially miscalibrated AI reasoning. We conclude with design strategies to better align device behaviour with these social nuances.
Keywords
Privacy Perceptions, Smart Speakers, User Study, Cross-Culture
Discipline
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Databases and Information Systems | Software Engineering
Research Areas
Software and Cyber-Physical Systems
Areas of Excellence
Digital transformation
Publication
Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies
Volume
2026
Issue
4
First Page
724
Last Page
739
Identifier
10.56553/POPETS-2026-0142
Publisher
Privacy Enhancing Technologies Board
Citation
WARIN, Lynne; AURELIA, Emily; TANG, Anthony; AURELIA, Emily; and REINHARDT, Delphine.
“Alexa, Do Not Say That in Front of My Boss!” A cross-cultural comparison of user and AI preferences for privacy-aware smart speaker interactions across contexts. (2026). Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies. 2026, (4), 724-739.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/11254
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.56553/POPETS-2026-0142
Included in
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons, Databases and Information Systems Commons, Software Engineering Commons